I think Gram Parsons is a lot more important in The Rolling Stones history than Chuck Leavell is.

thats right if keith would do coming down again and little t&a you would have less people going for a beer and a wiz and not caring about keiths set, i know i would stay seated for those numbers

melillo i really don't understand your posts, Chuck has ruined rock n roll or post 82 fans defend him. I bought Sticky Fingers the day it came out.

And as much as I love Coming Down Again, I think more people would get up and take a leak during that than most of the numbers he sings on simly because its very slow and many would not know it like his others.

not if they are true diehard stones fans, thats the stuff they want , cmon man

.... look, theres a problem... no one ever complained about nicky, ian, billy or stu or anyone else until chuckee cheese shows up... i cant believe any of you would even read a stupid diary from him... like all the sudden he is mr. rolling stone in charge of the set list,, wouldnt you fire him for the lousy set lists?????

Mick won't get adventurous? He is a walking adventure. Truthfully, Stones songs are not that hard to play. I can play all of them, including all of Mick Taylor's riffs note for note and I didn't write the friggin' song nor am I a professional.

Thank you Chuck for trying. If Keith can pull off "Nearness of You" he can pull off "Coming Down Again". Shock me show me.

what do you mean mick wont get adventurous, look aty the gems they pulled out on the licks tour, dont tell me that was chucks work cause thats bull

Its not bull, Chuck suggests songs to practice, read and you will see this is the truth. He makes suggestions about adding different songs to the set and they get shot down many times by Mick. Under My Thumb is something Chuck suggested to Mick in Milan. He has gotten them to run through Let Me Go, She Was Hot and others during rehearsals but Mick plays it safe as he has the final say, this stuff is well documented. This is why to me Chuck's journal is interesting. He is not going to just make this stuff up, he is not doing this for money or anything, its just his journal.

"wouldnt you fire him for the lousy set lists?????"

If Chuck was able to do the sets all by himself there wouldn't be as many complaints on sites like this as there is. Sometimes I even wonder if Chuck is not one of the people bitching on this site because he obviously pushes to get them to play different tunes. Read a little and you can see for yourself.

When Wood did his solo tour in '93 and London '05 show he performed songs like "Pretty Beat Up" (never done by Stones) and "Dance (Pt 1)" - the latter for one gig. Keith for his tours pulled out "I Wanna Be Your Man," "Too Rude," and "Connection." The issue has more likely to do with Mick's anxiety about the large audiences getting restless during songs they don't know or didn't work as well in rehearsals. Of course, as with Sway, they can get better the more they play them...Yet since '99 the Stones have done loads of songs (& covers) I'd never have expected from Moonlight Mile, Some Girls, Thru & Thru, Sway, Worried about You, etc, etc...So I could use 3 or 4 fewer warhorses, they usually perform them GREAT, and my main bitch would be too little Bigger Bang songs per show.

On the Spanish thing:

"We were all really sad and frustrated to miss the shows…it meant that out of the original four planned shows in Spain, we would wind up canceling all of them. I felt especially bad for the fans…and can only hope that we come back here next year to make up for all these lost shows. I know that Mick felt really bad as well…it wasn’t his fault…he was diagnosed with a viral infection that just had to run it’s course until he could sing again."

(from the 8/14-16 diary at [www.chuckleavell.com])



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2006-09-04 15:14 by Limbostone.

melillo Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> to bad chucks diary does not include his
> resignation


Why? He's not the one playing the slop on guitar.

the dude tries his best- let's give him a break

If there would have been an internet in the day, "fans" would have complained about Stu, Nicky, Mac, Preston, etc.

would have complained about preston, none of the others

And whats wrong with Preston?

J-J-Flash Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Its not bull, Chuck suggests songs to practice,
> read and you will see this is the truth. He makes
> suggestions about adding different songs to the
> set and they get shot down many times by Mick.
> Under My Thumb is something Chuck suggested to
> Mick in Milan. He has gotten them to run through
> Let Me Go, She Was Hot and others during
> rehearsals but Mick plays it safe as he has the
> final say, this stuff is well documented. This is
> why to me Chuck's journal is interesting. He is
> not going to just make this stuff up, he is not
> doing this for money or anything, its just his
> journal.
>
> "wouldnt you fire him for the lousy set
> lists?????"
>
> If Chuck was able to do the sets all by himself
> there wouldn't be as many complaints on sites like
> this as there is. Sometimes I even wonder if Chuck
> is not one of the people bitching on this site
> because he obviously pushes to get them to play
> different tunes. Read a little and you can see for
> yourself.



yep. at least he's making the effort. What john R also says about Mick's "anxiety" is also correct.

thats cause mick is an ego maniac

ablett Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> And whats wrong with Preston?


he wasted everyones time by doing two numbers in the show , thats whats wrong with preston, need i say more



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2006-09-04 17:24 by melillo.

Here is a real interesting section of the diary....it relates to the day before the show in Montreal in January after the 4 week lay off......and the rehearsal session they had scheduled:

"There was a rehearsal scheduled at around 7pm, so I had time to kill. I worked some more on set lists...looking ahead to Boston and NY. I also worked on other business related to Southscape. MA friend of ours from Macon, Ga...Jane Jordan...has a daughter going to University in Montreal, and she had arranged to come up and attend the rehearsals and the show. So I contacted them to get our schedule going...Chelsea, her daughter, and Chelsea's friend Kate along with Jane were set to come to rehearsals that evening. I decided that it would be a good idea for us to go early, just to make it easier and to give me time to take them on a tour of backstage and the stage itself.

I also wanted to get there early to finalize my suggestions to Mick for tunes to rehearse. So we took a cab from the hotel to the Belle Center around 5:30. They loved the experience of the "tour", and just seeing how things operate. I always enjoy seeing my friends look at all of it in wonder and answering all their questions. We took lots of pictures so they will be able to savor the memories. Finally I left them in our Rattlesnake Inn to relax while I wrote up a suggested list of songs to rehearse. I wrote up more than I knew that Mick would want to do, but it's best to have more to choose from.

I had: Gimmie Shelter
Waiting On A Friend
As Tears Go By
Undercover
Sway
The Last Time
Under My Thumb
Let's Spend The Night Together
Respectable
Saint Of Me
Memory Motel
19th Nervous Breakdown
Crazy Mama
Far Away Eyes
Let Me Go
@#$%&
Let It Bleed

Mick and I met about 15 minutes before the rehearsal and went over the list. He checked a few of the ones above and we also discussed changing the opening number. I was ahead of him on that and handed him a proposed set list for the Montreal show as well as the two Boston shows using Jumpin' Jack Flash as the opening song. We'd used that successfully on a hand full of shows during the first leg. He agreed, and we made up a short list of songs to rehearse.

He added a few to the list...again, knowing that we'd never get to all of them...but his additions were:

Everybody Needs Somebody To Love
Just My Imagination
Beast of Burden
Going to A Go-Go
Love Is Strong
Loving Cup
Shine A Light
All Over Now
Harlem Shuffle
Worried About You
Ain't Too Proud to Beg
Heartbreaker

Then we made our way up to see all the guys and start the rehearsal. In the end, it was a very good rehearsal and we managed to go through Let's Spend The Night Together, As Tears Go By, Memory Motel, All Over Now, Love Is Strong, Ain't Too Proud To Beg, Heartbreaker, Respectable, and Going To A Go-Go.

After Mick left, Keith wanted to keep working on some of his songs and we went through: This Place Is Empty, Little T and A, and Happy. I think that was all...but by then it had been a long night, and we all headed back to the hotel."

Give Chuck a break....he's a decent guy ( met him a couple of years ago ) and it is clear that he has tried to push for some gems....in fact....we would not have had SWAY or AS TEARS GO BYE...without Chuck making a serious pitch for them.......it is clear that Mick is in charge....and for the vast majority of European shows...he preferred a stale set list....for variety...check out the set lists during January and February...atleast some decent rotation of songs!

"After Mick left, Keith wanted to keep working on some of his songs and we went through: This Place Is Empty, Little T and A, and Happy. I think that was all...but by then it had been a long night, and we all headed back to the hotel."

Ahhh, I wish Keith would play "Little T & A" again in concert! Last time was on his first solo tour, right?

taz22 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Here is a real interesting section of the
> diary....it relates to the day before the show in
> Montreal in January after the 4 week lay
> off......and the rehearsal session they had
> scheduled:
>
> "There was a rehearsal scheduled at around 7pm, so
> I had time to kill. I worked some more on set
> lists...looking ahead to Boston and NY. I also
> worked on other business related to Southscape.
> MA friend of ours from Macon, Ga...Jane
> Jordan...has a daughter going to University in
> Montreal, and she had arranged to come up and
> attend the rehearsals and the show. So I
> contacted them to get our schedule
> going...Chelsea, her daughter, and Chelsea's
> friend Kate along with Jane were set to come to
> rehearsals that evening. I decided that it would
> be a good idea for us to go early, just to make it
> easier and to give me time to take them on a tour
> of backstage and the stage itself.
>
> I also wanted to get there early to finalize my
> suggestions to Mick for tunes to rehearse. So we
> took a cab from the hotel to the Belle Center
> around 5:30. They loved the experience of the
> "tour", and just seeing how things operate. I
> always enjoy seeing my friends look at all of it
> in wonder and answering all their questions. We
> took lots of pictures so they will be able to
> savor the memories. Finally I left them in our
> Rattlesnake Inn to relax while I wrote up a
> suggested list of songs to rehearse. I wrote up
> more than I knew that Mick would want to do, but
> it's best to have more to choose from.
>
> I had: Gimmie Shelter
> Waiting On A Friend
> As Tears Go By
> Undercover
> Sway
> The Last Time
> Under My Thumb
> Let's Spend The Night Together
> Respectable
> Saint Of Me
> Memory Motel
> 19th Nervous Breakdown
> Crazy Mama
> Far Away Eyes
> Let Me Go
> @#$%&
> Let It Bleed
>
> Mick and I met about 15 minutes before the
> rehearsal and went over the list. He checked a few
> of the ones above and we also discussed changing
> the opening number. I was ahead of him on that
> and handed him a proposed set list for the
> Montreal show as well as the two Boston shows
> using Jumpin' Jack Flash as the opening song.
> We'd used that successfully on a hand full of
> shows during the first leg. He agreed, and we
> made up a short list of songs to rehearse.
>
> He added a few to the list...again, knowing that
> we'd never get to all of them...but his additions
> were:
>
> Everybody Needs Somebody To Love
> Just My Imagination
> Beast of Burden
> Going to A Go-Go
> Love Is Strong
> Loving Cup
> Shine A Light
> All Over Now
> Harlem Shuffle
> Worried About You
> Ain't Too Proud to Beg
> Heartbreaker
>
> Then we made our way up to see all the guys and
> start the rehearsal. In the end, it was a very
> good rehearsal and we managed to go through Let's
> Spend The Night Together, As Tears Go By, Memory
> Motel, All Over Now, Love Is Strong, Ain't Too
> Proud To Beg, Heartbreaker, Respectable, and Going
> To A Go-Go.
>
> After Mick left, Keith wanted to keep working on
> some of his songs and we went through: This Place
> Is Empty, Little T and A, and Happy. I think that
> was all...but by then it had been a long night,
> and we all headed back to the hotel."
>
> Give Chuck a break....he's a decent guy ( met him
> a couple of years ago ) and it is clear that he
> has tried to push for some gems....in fact....we
> would not have had SWAY or AS TEARS GO
> BYE...without Chuck making a serious pitch for
> them.......it is clear that Mick is in
> charge....and for the vast majority of European
> shows...he preferred a stale set list....for
> variety...check out the set lists during January
> and February...atleast some decent rotation of
> songs!

Wow, forget the concerts, I want to go to the rehearsals! I think they should put one of them out on DVD. No one would be able to complain about any guitar screwups because after all it's only a rehersal.

I went to the Leavell site but the latest "chapter" in his diary is entitled "Down Under" Where do you find the latest stuff?

Also, we met him and Bernard in Denver at the Tim Ries show and they each (especially Chuck) spent a little time with us, signed for us, and took photos with all of us. He is VERY down to earth.

tim from Montana

During the initial tours that he was on, the piano was too high in the mix, and a lot of the fills sounded a little cheesy, which turned many against him. Second, he is an American, which people don't like. Third, he smiles all the time, which people think is un-Stones like.

Well, these days, his piano is lower in the mix (as it should be) and the guitars are loud and up front. It's not Chuck's fault that sometimes K and R forget to actually play. Can't help that he's an American, but even Keef smiles all the time these days (ask anyone who was at Amsterdam), so there's no crime in that.

As far as studio work is concerned, no one will ever touch Nicky, but he's not with us. In concert these days, the Stones are a huge 13-member band (those looking for the stones to go back to a 5-member group can forget it; it ain't going to happen), and thank goodness that Chuck is around to keep this circus going. Chuck is a very talented pianist, arranger and bandleader, and for today's stones, he is absolutely essential.

drbryant Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> During the initial tours that he was on, the piano
> was too high in the mix, and a lot of the fills
> sounded a little cheesy, which turned many against
> him. Second, he is an American, which people
> don't like. Third, he smiles all the time, which
> people think is un-Stones like.
>


wrong - it's the damn beard we hate!

J-J-Flash Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Sometimes I even wonder if Chuck is not one of the people bitching on this site
> because he obviously pushes to get them to play
> different tunes. Read a little and you can see for
> yourself.

All right, you've found me out: I AM CHUCK LEAVELL! How on earth did you figure it out? I've been so careful to cover my tracks - I even hired some half-crazed drunken hillbilly from Kentucky to go around telling people he is the poster known as ohnonotyouagain to throw off suspicion. It was a flawless plan, I'm telling you. But now the cat is out of the bag ... thanks to you. Thanks a lot, J-J-Flash, I really appreciate it. No, I'm serious, I'm not being sarcastic at all. Bastard.

You people have no idea how hard it is being me. Everyone criticizes me. Even Charlie makes fun of my beard behind my back. And you fans are relentless, always bashing me, bashing me, bashing me, with your tiny fist-like words. If only you knew how many nights I've lain awake, tears of pain streaming down my face and pooling damply in my moustache. I say to myself "if I can't make each and every Stones fans happy with my setlists, WHAT HOPE DO I HAVE OF SAVING OUR ENDANGERED FORESTS???"

And the setlists. Don't get me started. I have tried and tried to get them to play what I feel would be their crowning achievement, a 30 minute medley of Citadel, Gomper and Jessica by the Allman Brothers, with a solo by yours truly. I keep harping at Mick to change the setlist, but he just won't listen. Oh sure, sometimes he throws me a bone, playing Sway (thanks for f-ing up the vocals on those first versions, Mick, that was real mature) or As Tears Go By. But when I push for real changes he just looks down his nose at me, even though he has to stand on a box to do it. It's humiliating, I tell you, humiliating.

Just thinking about the setlists makes me so mad. How can they stand to play the same thing every night? How can they stand to play Honky Tonky Women for the ONE MILLIONTH TIME??? I SWEAR TO GOD, IF I HAVE TO PLAY MISS YOU ONE MORE FREAKIN' TIME I'M GONNA TEAR MY BEARD OUT AND SPRINKLE IT ALL OVER KEITH'S STOLI AND RONNIE'S BANANNAS!!! I AM LOSING MY MIND, I CAN'T TAKE THIS ANYMORE!!! I'M GONNA CHEW THROUGH AN ENDANGERED TREE WITH MY TEETH!!! GET OUT OF MY WAY, AAAAAAARRRRRGGGHHH!!!!!!!

ohnonotyouagain Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> J-J-Flash Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > Sometimes I even wonder if Chuck is not one of
> the people bitching on this site
> > because he obviously pushes to get them to play
> > different tunes. Read a little and you can see
> for
> > yourself.
>
> All right, you've found me out: I AM CHUCK
> LEAVELL! How on earth did you figure it out? I've
> been so careful to cover my tracks - I even hired
> some half-crazed drunken hillbilly from Kentucky
> to go around telling people he is the poster known
> as ohnonotyouagain to throw off suspicion. It was
> a flawless plan, I'm telling you. But now the cat
> is out of the bag ... thanks to you. Thanks a lot,
> J-J-Flash, I really appreciate it. No, I'm
> serious, I'm not being sarcastic at all. Bastard.
>
> You people have no idea how hard it is being me.
> Everyone criticizes me. Even Charlie makes fun of
> my beard behind my back. And you fans are
> relentless, always bashing me, bashing me, bashing
> me, with your tiny fist-like words. If only you
> knew how many nights I've lain awake, tears of
> pain streaming down my face and pooling damply in
> my moustache. I say to myself "if I can't make
> each and every Stones fans happy with my setlists,
> WHAT HOPE DO I HAVE OF SAVING OUR ENDANGERED
> FORESTS???"
>
> And the setlists. Don't get me started. I have
> tried and tried to get them to play what I feel
> would be their crowning achievement, a 30 minute
> medley of Citadel, Gomper and Jessica by the
> Allman Brothers, with a solo by yours truly. I
> keep harping at Mick to change the setlist, but he
> just won't listen. Oh sure, sometimes he throws me
> a bone, playing Sway (thanks for f-ing up the
> vocals on those first versions, Mick, that was
> real mature) or As Tears Go By. But when I push
> for real changes he just looks down his nose at
> me, even though he has to stand on a box to do it.
> It's humiliating, I tell you, humiliating.
>
> Just thinking about the setlists makes me so mad.
> How can they stand to play the same thing every
> night? How can they stand to play Honky Tonky
> Women for the ONE MILLIONTH TIME??? I SWEAR TO
> GOD, IF I HAVE TO PLAY MISS YOU ONE MORE FREAKIN'
> TIME I'M GONNA TEAR MY BEARD OUT AND SPRINKLE IT
> ALL OVER KEITH'S STOLI AND RONNIE'S BANANNAS!!! I
> AM LOSING MY MIND, I CAN'T TAKE THIS ANYMORE!!!
> I'M GONNA CHEW THROUGH AN ENDANGERED TREE WITH MY
> TEETH!!! GET OUT OF MY WAY,
> AAAAAAARRRRRGGGHHH!!!!!!!



funniest post this summer

That's right, mock my pain. Go on, I SAID MOCK IT! You'll all get yours. Oh yes, you'll all get yours.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2006-09-06 03:47 by ohnonotyouagain.

..... i dont like it that chucky is smiling all the time up there, or worse, that keith is too.... yeah, we could of done without preston..
'any' two song breaks for me is like a cow on the tracks

really man, what were they thinking

lettingitbleed Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> ohnonotyouagain Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > J-J-Flash Wrote:
> >
> --------------------------------------------------
>
> > -----
> > > Sometimes I even wonder if Chuck is not one
> of
> > the people bitching on this site
> > > because he obviously pushes to get them to
> play
> > > different tunes. Read a little and you can
> see
> > for
> > > yourself.
> >
> > All right, you've found me out: I AM CHUCK
> > LEAVELL! How on earth did you figure it out?
> I've
> > been so careful to cover my tracks - I even
> hired
> > some half-crazed drunken hillbilly from
> Kentucky
> > to go around telling people he is the poster
> known
> > as ohnonotyouagain to throw off suspicion. It
> was
> > a flawless plan, I'm telling you. But now the
> cat
> > is out of the bag ... thanks to you. Thanks a
> lot,
> > J-J-Flash, I really appreciate it. No, I'm
> > serious, I'm not being sarcastic at all.
> Bastard.
> >
> > You people have no idea how hard it is being
> me.
> > Everyone criticizes me. Even Charlie makes fun
> of
> > my beard behind my back. And you fans are
> > relentless, always bashing me, bashing me,
> bashing
> > me, with your tiny fist-like words. If only you
> > knew how many nights I've lain awake, tears of
> > pain streaming down my face and pooling damply
> in
> > my moustache. I say to myself "if I can't make
> > each and every Stones fans happy with my
> setlists,
> > WHAT HOPE DO I HAVE OF SAVING OUR ENDANGERED
> > FORESTS???"
> >
> > And the setlists. Don't get me started. I have
> > tried and tried to get them to play what I feel
> > would be their crowning achievement, a 30
> minute
> > medley of Citadel, Gomper and Jessica by the
> > Allman Brothers, with a solo by yours truly. I
> > keep harping at Mick to change the setlist, but
> he
> > just won't listen. Oh sure, sometimes he throws
> me
> > a bone, playing Sway (thanks for f-ing up the
> > vocals on those first versions, Mick, that was
> > real mature) or As Tears Go By. But when I push
> > for real changes he just looks down his nose at
> > me, even though he has to stand on a box to do
> it.
> > It's humiliating, I tell you, humiliating.
> >
> > Just thinking about the setlists makes me so
> mad.
> > How can they stand to play the same thing every
> > night? How can they stand to play Honky Tonky
> > Women for the ONE MILLIONTH TIME??? I SWEAR TO
> > GOD, IF I HAVE TO PLAY MISS YOU ONE MORE
> FREAKIN'
> > TIME I'M GONNA TEAR MY BEARD OUT AND SPRINKLE
> IT
> > ALL OVER KEITH'S STOLI AND RONNIE'S BANANNAS!!!
> I
> > AM LOSING MY MIND, I CAN'T TAKE THIS ANYMORE!!!
> > I'M GONNA CHEW THROUGH AN ENDANGERED TREE WITH
> MY
> > TEETH!!! GET OUT OF MY WAY,
> > AAAAAAARRRRRGGGHHH!!!!!!!
>
>
>
> funniest post this summer



Wow. That tops any stuff that I've come up with. Chuck, you have my respect.